


The Tales of Madeline Heterodyne

by Names_Are_Too_Much_Pressure



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Agatha has a sister, Alternate Universe, Maddie is not interested in your nonsense, More characters to be added as they appear - Freeform, Smart characters, not great at summaries, twins au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 08:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21033284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Names_Are_Too_Much_Pressure/pseuds/Names_Are_Too_Much_Pressure
Summary: Maddie grew up knowing she was the twin sister to Agatha. She also knew from a young age that she apparently looked like her father but acted like her mother, and that her uncle and foster parents didn't really like her mother.How does the story change with a second Heterodyne Girl involved?First chapter posted for Girl Genius Event Week 2019: October 14-Every time I’ve tried to write it, I feel like it’s not good enough





	The Tales of Madeline Heterodyne

**Author's Note:**

> So, as it says on the tin Maddie is Agatha's twin sister. She looks pretty much like a female Bill more or less, and has a silver toned locket to contrast to Agatha's more brass/gold tone one.  
Italics are Maddie's thoughts on what's going on at the moment.  
Apologies for typing out so much of what happened in the comics exactly, once we get further on the plot will change more from canon.  
Feel free to message or comment if you find any grammar or spelling mistakes and I'll fix them up!

Maddie Clay’s day had started the same as every other, but it certainly wasn’t going to finish like that.

“The Baron is coming today?! I thought he wasn’t due for weeks!” Maddie said.

“I know.” Dr. Merlot scowled. “The Master wants you to put together the reports on the running of the town. Anything that the Baron may want to see during his visit. Then join him in the lab with the Baron’s project when he arrives. He’ll be here in less than an hour. Get to it.”

“Of course, Doctor.” Maddie smiled as she turned to go collect paperwork, once she was out of sight though she let that smile turn to a grimace. ‘_And with no time to make sure Agatha won’t be here during this mess,’_ Maddie thought to herself.

Forty-five minutes later Maddie was following Dr. Merlot and Dr. Glassvitch into the main lab. The doctors seemed shocked at how clean the lab was, though whether that was due to the time constraints or the fact it was Agatha, Maddie wasn’t sure. ‘_Now let’s just hope no one notices the storage closet._’

“Nicely done Aggie, you-”

“No von move! Dis is hyu only varning!” They all turned to see the Baron’s ensemble entering the lab. Maddie quickly stepped forward as Dr. Beetle began introductions.

“This is my chief assistant Miss Clay,” Maddie bowed to the Baron, “and her twin sister, our lab assistant. Now the machine- Miss Clay!” Dr. Beetle exclaimed, turning to Agatha. “Where is your locket?!”

“It…it was stolen sir. I was accosted trying to get away when there was an electrical anomaly-” Maddie stepped forward grabbing her sister’s arm.

“Oh Aggie, you were attacked?! Are you hurt?!”

“Accosted? Stolen?! In my city! This is terrible!” Dr. Beetle said.

“Dr. Beetle, would it be possible for me to help my sister home? She should rest after such a shock. With your leave of course, Herr Baron.”

“I’m feeling much better now, really I’m fine!” Agatha protested as Maddie pulled her towards the door.

“Wait! You actually saw the event in town?” the Baron asked.

“Yes, Herr Baron, I was right in the middle of it.”

“Stay. I might have questions for you later.”

“Klaus! This girl has had a shock; you must let her go home!” Dr. Beetle protested.

“She appears stable Dr. Beetle, now on to the machine.” Maddie ignored the Baron discussing the machine he had ordered built with Dr. Merlot and Dr. Glassvitch in favour of examining her sister. Besides a faint mark on her cheek she seemed fine. “Gilgamesh?”

“Yes, father?” Maddie blinked when she noticed the Baron’s son. ‘_You have **got** to be kidding. I have never been so glad to not be noticed. Later, deal with all of that later._’ Maddie dug her nails into her sister’s arm as she started to hum while listening to the Baron’s explanation of the theory behind the machine. Agatha jumped, but settled when she saw Maddie with a finger to her lips.

“We don’t want to interrupt, do we, dear?”

“Sorry Maddie, it’s just, something isn’t right…” Maddie raised her eyebrows putting her finger to her lips again. Agatha nodded and watched as the Baron’s son examined the machine. _‘Oh dear, someone has been repressing their Spark too much. And of course, the plans are in the stuffed storage closet… And apparently so was a goldfish. Of course.’_ Maggie stood in the background watching as Gil revealed the device as the ridiculous test it was but stepped in when Dr. Merlot began shouting at Dr. Beetle for wasting his time.

“Dr. Merlot, perhaps a few moments to calm down would be helpful?”

“Calm down! I’ll show you how calm I can be! All this time wasted! I may not be a Spark, but I am not a fool! Why don’t we _calmly_ show everyone what the Baron’s trusted mentor has been working so hard on in the middle of a civilian city?! Against his strict orders!”

“Silas! For the love of God! No!!” Dr. Beetle yelled as Merlot threw the switch that opened the blockade from the secondary lab space. Maddie gasped at the sight of the Hive Engine and missed the rest of the conversation, until Mr. Tock ripped off the ceiling. It was all Maddie could do to keep from laughing as the Baron told his son to dissect Dr. Beetles plan, especially when he called him short. There was something poetic about how easily the Baron cleaned up all of Dr. Beetle’s resistance, though it was irritating that she hadn’t noticed that a _Hive Engine_ had been brought into town. _‘I suppose that happens when thinking too far into the future, you miss the present. Lessons for the future, though this does throw a great wrench in every plan I had.’_

“Herr Baron please don’t kill him! We need him!” Agatha begged the Baron. Maddie snorted.

“Regardless of need or how we may wish it, I highly doubt the Baron is going to let him keep running Beetleburg, Agatha.”

“Indeed. Beetle, the loyalty of the rest of your people does you credit. They can rest assured I have no intention of killing you. I have use of you-”

“No! I’ll never submit to that! Never!” Everyone tensed as Dr. Beetle pulled off one of his crests and it unfurled wings. He threw it towards the cluster of the Clay sisters, the Baron, and his son, who was still holding the goldfish for some reason. “You won’t get me! You won’t get any of us!” Maddie hauled Agatha back as Gil used a wrench to smack the device back towards Dr. Beetle. “No!”

“Down!” Gil turned to try and shield the Clay sisters but Maddie had already pulled Agatha to the ground. The explosion sent them all flying back regardless. Maddie had enough presence of mind to tell the Baron’s son she was fine and to make sure Agatha was but all of the rest of her attention was focused on the smoking wreck of Dr. Beetle’s body. She had to resist hysterical laughter when Gil tried to comfort Agatha and was then scolded about Dr. Beetle being killed.

“If it makes a difference Herr Baron, all of those crests were bombs. He had them on all of his coats in case of emergencies.” The Baron nodded as the jaeger cracked jokes and man with four arms complained about the floor quality. Agatha going on a screaming rant woke her up fully though.

“-The people loved him! When they find out- AHHHH!! No! Not now! Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow.” Maddie jumped up to hug her sister as she muttered about how her head hurt and the Baron’s people were horrible. Dr. Glassovitch explained Agatha’s headaches and it was a good thing that Maddie was facing away from the Baron when he called her pathetic considering the look on her face could be considered evidence for treason in some circles. _‘I swear if he wasn’t the ruler of this damned empire…’_ Maddie focused on helping her sister work though the pain and carefully not looking at what remained of Dr. Beetle as Baron Wulfenbach appointed Dr. Merlot as the new administrator of the university and the town.

“I am going to do one good thing today!” Dr. Merlot pointed at Agatha, “Miss Clay you are banned from this university forever!”

“What?! But-” Agatha said before Maddie interrupted.

“Understood Dr. Merlot, we will collect out belongings and leave immediately.” Maddie struggled to keep her face clear as both Dr. Merlot and Dr. Glassovitch spluttered. Agatha looked torn between horror and confusion, while the Baron and his men looked vaguely confused.

“Not you! Your idiotic sister is banned, not you Miss Clay. You will remain here and assist me just as you assisted Dr. Beetle.”

“But I’m a good student! I know I have trouble, but I work really hard! You can’t just…”

“Of course I can! I’m in charge now!”

_‘Oh how I wish I could tell him to shove that idea into the same place as that stick is rammed. Maybe tomorrow once the Baron is gone…’_ “Alright, Dr. Merlot. With your leave I would escort my sister home before returning.”

“No! That little fool can make her own way.”

“Petty,” The Baron scoffed.

“Very well. Herr Baron are the streets safe?” The Baron scowled but nodded and ordered the Jager to take Agatha home. Maddie hugged her quickly before she left.

“It’ll be okay Aggie. I’ll come home as soon as I can.” Agatha nodded, pain still in her eyes as she left with the Jager. With that, Maddie turned to her tasks in keeping the city running. Considering Dr. Beetle had been more focused on his own Spark projects and the university than the town at large there wasn’t really a lot to worry about. Dr. Merlot already knew most of what he needed for running the university, it was just the town he had trouble with. The Baron and his son left to see to the rest of the town while Maddie and Dr. Merlot handled the more administrative tasks. Maddie ended up having to spend the night working at the university to help Dr. Merlot make the transition of power as smooth as possible. It was late afternoon of the next day by the time she finally managed to get home.

_‘Huh. The lights are all off. That’s weird. Even if Lilith and Agatha are out, Adam should still be working on the tractor we got in the other day.’_ Maddie was two houses away from Clay Mechanical when someone called out to her.

“Madeline! Come over here.” Lilith called quietly from the alleyway. Maddie obediently approached her foster parents with a calm but confused look on her face. _‘Oh, what fresh hell is this going to be? And where is Agatha?!’_ Lilith took hold of Maddie’s arm and pulled her further down the alley away from their home. “We need to leave Beetleburg. Now.”

“What?! But the city is on lockdown! And I still have my work at the university! We can’t just leave out of nowhere. Where’s Aggie?” Lilith frowned at Maddie and Adam moved behind her, blocking any path back to their former house.

“_Agatha _is gone. The Baron took her. We need to get somewhere safe and then I’ll explain.” Maddie gasped and her jaw dropped. After a moment she took a deep breath and nodded.

“Fine. I assume we’re getting her back?” She paused for Lilith to nod. “Good. That explanation better include why the Baron would take her, and why you’ve been so afraid of him all our lives.”

“It will.” _‘Somehow I doubt it will be the truth though._’

***

Hours later they were gathered in an inn in another city entirely. They had traveled through the Wastelands all day until dusk when Adam and Lilith decided they needed to rest for the night. Maddie waited until after they had eaten supper before asking for the promised answers.

“Okay, so why did the Baron kidnap Agatha?” They exchanged glances and Lilith sighed.

“Agatha is the daughter of Bill Heterodyne and Lucrenzia Mongfish. Although, we have gone by the names Lilith and Adam for the last two decades, when we were first made, we were called Punch and Judy. Uncle Barry is Barry Heterodyne, he brought Agatha to us after he and Bill defeated the Other. Barry was convinced that Klaus was an ally of the Other. That is likely why he took Agatha, or at least he will hurt her if he figures it out while he has her.”

_‘Klaus Wulfenbach, the tyrannical Baron who has taken over Europa, a man fanatical about destroying all traces of the Other after he returned from a long absence to find his home destroyed. That man, an ally of the Other? Yeah right.’_

“So, you’re trying to tell me that _we’re _the daughters of _Bill Heterodyne_?” Maddie asked.

“No. Agatha is his daughter. You were an orphan that Barry found while traveling before he came to us. He was worried about enemies finding them and having you stay with Agatha made it easier to hide her.” It took everything Maddie had to keep her from screaming or showing any reaction to them besides surprise, confusion and mild sorrow.

“You mean…we’re not really twin sisters?”

“No. Barry’s best estimate had you at a few months younger than Agatha when he found you.” Maddie gasped and covered her mouth with her hands before lowering her head and closing her eyes. Making sure her shoulders shook slightly, she seethed with rage. _‘Fine. If that’s how they want to play this, let’s play.’ _She drew a deep breath and looked back up at them.

“I don’t care. Blood or not Agatha and I _are_ sisters and I love her. How can we save her?” Adam gestured at Lilith and she replied in turn. Lilith sighed and begun to explain how they would follow the airship of Castle Wulfenbach and find a good time to sneak aboard and rescue Agatha.


End file.
